User blog:FateAlbane/Jack of All Tropes - Big Iron
...Will be doing this for fun later. This will be a list of all the tropes I find in the plot. Just leaving it here for now. EDIT: Mostly done. Following sessions will have their own individual blogs. Go here for Session 2. / Or here for Session 3. Tropes in the Pre-Sessions Rule of Fun - The game has a knack for making fun of itself at times as part of the experience. Make that a lot of times. Word of God/The DM went as far as stating he's embracing the memes "not-DMing" on this one, though he also claimed he's willing to go dark if/when necessary. Subverted in some of the character's backstories, as several of them involve tragedy or trauma of some sort. Random Number God - Saying that SOLSTICE is using her probability manip to troll or make players and characters alike suffer with bad rolls is a common claim for the JoaT RPG sessions. The Wild West - The setting of the story is mainly this, albeit with several fantastic/supernatural elements added to it. Ragtag Bunch of Misfits - The party of ether-scarred player characters qualifies for this at times. Make Them Rot /Walking Wasteland/Touch of Death - By the very own nature of their being, Rogue/Rouge Spirits fit these tropes to living things, wherever they go. A literal case of Walking Wastelands seeing how, if left unchecked, they may eventually drain all life in the planet and ultimately perish right along with it. Oh, Crap! - Happens during several moments, mainly as a result of bad dice rolls. Dark and Troubled Past - A part of pretty much all of the main cast's backstories, as being introduced to magic in a violent or traumatic way is what makes an ether-scarred. Ghostly Goals - Type B for most - if not all - Rouge Spirits seen, heard of or mentioned in this segment of the story. The Clan - The Alsandairs. Though this branch of the story doesn't focus as much on them as the darker and edgier JoaT:War, they are still an element of the setting. May overlap with either Heroic Lineage or The Family that Slays Together as individual Alsandairs are not always fighting for the right or otherwise good reasons. The main antagonist of the prequel for one, could definitely be seen as a Well-Intentioned Extremist ... Badass Family - Again, the Alsandairs. Justified Tutorial - The Pre-Sessions serve as this, introducing player characters to the game system and inserting them in the story at the same time. Tone Shift - Though dark elements are still there at times or in backstories, Big Iron has a much more lighthearted plotline than its prequel. Traumatic Superpower Awakening - Seems to be the rule for pretty much every ether scarred. Tarot Motifs - Dufresne/Judgement, Eleonore/The Hierophant, Hob/Strength, Billy/The Magician, Marty/The Emperor, Ahuatzi/The Hermit, Magnum/The Sun. Dump Stat - Being something with game mechanics involved and all... It goes without saying that several characters are more concerned with specializing in their own strong points than trying to take multiple fronts at once. A Justified Trope in that the players act as a party - see the motive that mentions how "there are other party members that are potentially more capable/specialized in X front, so why waste resources on it". From Eleonore's Pre-Session Descriptiveville/Premiseville - Her story starts, quite literally, as she sets foot "in the Kansas Town of Midelnowere". Razor Floss - Eleonore incorporates sharp wires and threads as part of her fighting style. Shock and Awe - Eleonore displays her powers over Electricity for the first time in this. Or at least, tries to... I just want to be special - A good part of her character's premise is about this theme, though by the time of the story's events and especially after the events in the saloon, she's worn out enough to decisively be losing any hope that she can be. Desperately looking for a purpose in Life - Another part of her character premise. Best explained by the summary of her character sheet/profile. Friendless Background - As her own summary puts it, she grew up being sheltered to an extent where the books she would read and spiders she would look at were the only friends she had. The Cynic - Especially towards herself, though she can also be that way for others, depending on the situation. Mind Rape - To some extent, Eleonore's past involved this. Just in Time - Whoever saved Eleonore, they arrived to do so right before the absolute worst could happen. Big Damn Heroes - The way she sees whoever was her unknown savior. Third Party Stops Attack - Third type. The person who saved her attacked the Rouge Spirit before it could cause her any more lasting harm. Scarf of Asskicking - Eleonore wears a red scarf and as an ether scarred, has superior techniques to normal humans out there. Accidental (?) Pervert - Jimmy "just happened" to trip on Eleonore and end up with a hand somewhere he shouldn't while trying to hit on her, as he had a few glasses too many. About 20. Pervert Revenge Mode - Eleonore's general reaction to the above. Horribly averted at first as RNG effs Eleonore's rolls (explained in-verse by her being surprised/startled/shocked/flustered in the worst possible way at the situation of someone grabbing on her out of nowhere), but later played straight as she does win the fight somehow (and grows a clear dislike for Jimmy and drunkards, in the process). Bar Brawl - The fight between Eleonore and Jimmy takes place in a saloon. At some point, Eleonore is even sent at a nearby table with a punch and knocks it down as she falls. Saloon Owner /The Bartender - Self-explanatory. Everyone calls him "barkeep" - Unlike Jimmy, the bartender's name is never mentioned and he's usually called simply that by the narrative when necessary. Drowning my Sorrows - Jimmy explained that he got his drinking problem after a woman he had met, who was together with him, died in a sudden explosion - as she saved his life. Big WHAT? - Given his looks and initial attitude, Eleonore's first reaction to Jimmy having anything close to a woman near him in his story is a big, bolded "HOW". Western Zodiac - Eleonore shows several traits of the Gemini sign, being rather talkative, intelligent yet at times a bit dichotomous on her actions and thoughts... And also lampshading that the reason she asks a lot of things is her sign. I need a freaking drink - Eleonore's reaction to her discoveries by the end of the events in the saloon is a lot like this. Lampshaded by the bartender himself offering her one on the house. From Dufresne's Pre-Session Green Thumb - Duf's main method of fighting involves the manipulation of plants, seeds, roots and such things. Plant Mooks - Techniques like Smash Sprout can make plants capable of engaging Duf's foes in combat on their own. Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies - "Dynamites Fall, Duf Dies" is legitimately almost the exact way Dufresne dies as soon as the game starts both in meta and in-verse due to a combination of hitting DMUA's sanity points time and again and the dynamites in question rolling way too much damage. Lemony Narrator - The narrative sarcastically mocks Duf's expectations of having enough money to find and buy a car in the middle of nowhere, in the 1870's, not even that long after he escaped prison. Your cheating heart - Part of Duf's backstory is that his wife cheated on him. Things only got worse from there. A deadly affair - Zigzagged. While both Duf's wife and the man she was cheating with are killed, whoever the killer was... Was not Dufresne. Later, this very same killer tortures and comes close to murdering Dufresne as well, but is killed by an Alsandair instead. Plot-Inciting Infidelity - As explained above, the events of Dufresne's story start as a consequence of his wife's adultery. Somebody set up us the bomb - Dufresne's ambushed by people throwing dynamites at him as soon as his journey starts. Precision F-Strike - Dufresne manages to get some swearing past the radar as the "swear filter"/keeping the language mostly mild wasn't a thing stablished at the time of his pre-session. Since plain swearing is likely not to come anywhere else later, his reaction to the dynamites falling qualifies as this. Non-Fatal Explosions - Double subverted. At first it's subverted'' by Dufresne being supposed to instantly die from the blast due to the very high damage rolled by the dynamites''. Then it's played straight by him surviving with many injuries but still in enough of a condition to fight as it was more of a tutorial fight. No one could survive that - Subverted. One of Duf's attackers initially asks if they caught him after the explosion but another is Genre Savvy enough to want to make sure since he's a magic user. Too Dumb to Live - Played for laughs several times in meta due to some actions (or inaction) from Dufresne (e. g.: Saying he was going to "do nothing" about dynamite thrown at him), and in one of the "rules" of the game: "Be less stupid than Smashtwig". Again, this is mostly played for laughs and parody. Mostly. I hope. Unnecessary Combat Roll - One of Duf's assailants does this to avoid the plant's strike. And he does come out of it shooting. It gets him less than spectacular results against the magical pummeling plant, though. From Ahuatzi's Pre-Session Magical Native American - On many possible fronts, he's the textbook definition of this trope. Badass Native - In one of his very first appearances, he takes the frontlines to fight off a bear head-on, on his own, and has shown to never be afraid of taking the frontlines/vanguard of battle (See also Dying Moment of Awesome and Gentle Giant for other reasons why he qualifies). Make me Wanna Shout - The manipulation of sound is one of the main components of his fighting style. The Quiet One - Ahuatzi is the party member less prone to talk, while also having immense physical prowess. It goes very well with his Gentle Giant archetype and sort of sets him up to be a more serious and voice of reason for the party whenever he does talk. Either way, his actions have done a good job of showing more of his heart of gold than his words. Improbable Weapon User/Absurdly Sharp Blade - The Macuahuitl and obsidian blades qualify as this. Bears are Bad News - Ahuatzi's first opponent is a Black Bear. Made worse since it was also one with Magical Powers like his own . You can't go home again - Ahuatzi, Dufresne, Billy and Hob all qualify for this trope, each for their own reasons. What measure is a Non-Human? - Though Ahuatzi has to defeat the bear to defend himself and the other travellers, he stops at knocking it out instead of killing it and takes a few moments to apologize that it had to be this way before moving on with the rest of the caravan. From John's Pre-Session Put on a Bus/Real life writes the plot - John ends up never being seen again after his character introduction story, so to speak. In meta, the main reason for this removal was because of conflicting timezones. Long Bus Trip - Some more meta-reasons resulted in this as the end result for John, it seems. Do a barrel roll - John's stone dragon does this to try and foil an attack by a Rogue Spirit. Dragon Rider - Self-explanatory. Instant Awesome: Just Add Dragons! - The dragon isn't a plot point or any relevant character per se, but was admittedly as impressive as any other dragon out there (until a Rogue spirit subverted the trope by oneshotting it). Impaled with Extreme Prejudice - Invoked by John as he tries to impale the rouge spirit with stone spikes. Literally Shattered Lives - Sort of. The dragon was already made of stone to begin with, but suffers this fate when the Rogue Spirit oneshots it. Seeing how it never appears again, it sort of feels like it was killed off for real in this way despite being a construct animated with mana. Barrier Busting Blow - The spirit pulls this by dropkicking directly through the stone barrier John makes. Facepalm of Doom - Pulled by the rogue spirit as it grabs John's face and trying to drain his life-energy to death. Kill it with Fire - John's immediate answer to the above move. One Steve Limit - Averted. John Pine shares the same first name with John Davis, the nemesis in Billy's backstory. Worth nothing that the prequel also averted this by having multiple Jacks. From Hope's Pre-Session Crossing the Desert - Her introduction story starts with her "out in the great New Mexican Desert". Tempting Fate - When Hope finally finds someone else in the desert, her initial reaction is to be hopeful and conclude that the odds of it being a spirit were unlikely as it was during the day. Face Framed in Shadow /The Faceless - As the narrative best puts it: Uncanny Valley - Hope instinctively gets this reaction from the approaching enemy due to the aforementioned traits. Signature Scent /Evil Smells Bad - The distinct stench of death followed the Rouge Spirit's path, further alerting Hope of the danger it represented. Unnecessary Combat Roll - Played straight. Unlike the mooks fighting Dufresne's plant, she succeeds in both rolling out of the way and landing critical shots in the enemy. Dead all along - The spirit she fights gives Hope an unnerving reaction for this reason, and it gets lampshaded once it lies defeated. From Hob's Backstory Sole Survivor - Exactly what it says on the tin. A Rogue Spirit murdered all of his miner companions, leaving him as the only one to live, leave and tell of the experience - albeit as an ether scarred. Having a Blast - One of Hob's main powers causes explosions. Extra-ore-dinary /Gemstone Assault - Another one of Hob's manipulations controls minerals and solids such as iron. Doomed Hometown - The mine he starts in. All of his miner companions end up being killed. This trope also happens for Ahuatzi's tribe in his own backstory. Billy's also qualifies. Watching Troy Burn - Shared with Ahuatzi. They both saw the place that was their home/they cared most for burn before their very eyes and there's nothing they can do about it. In Hob's case, the mine. In Ahuatzi's case, his village. From Billy's Backstory Sole Survivor - When John Davis came back as a Rouge spirit, he attacked the town and annihilated everyone Billy knew until he was the only person left alive from his hometown. To make matters worse, he was only left alive out of the rogue's spirit desire to let him live in fear of his return and with the memories of how he ran away instead of attempting to defend anyone. My Greatest Failure - Billy's backstory fits this trope to a T. The ways he took his job and his lifestyle eventually cost him the lives of the whole city he was supposed to protect as the Sheriff. He had come to drown himself in alcohol and believe even his own lies of grandeur. That is, until the moment of John Davis' return made him pay not with his blood but with his dignity, being ultimately tracked down and spared only for him to live with the weight - and fault - of these events on his shoulders... And the grim reminder that John would one day return to end him as well. Back from the Dead - John Davis. Unfinished Business - John Davis came back specifically for his revenge against Billy. Cruel Mercy - This trope pretty much constitutes John's motives for not killing Billy just yet. The Sheriff - Billy was one, albeit due to nepotism. He was nowhere near a role model in this and his actions ultimately lead to the town's downfall at John's hands. *Another example of this trope is in Magnum's pre-session where she meets a Sheriff when he goes to lock up Scarlet for the timebeing. Disproportionate Retribution - Instead of taking revenge in an "eye for an eye" sort of manner, John Davis kills everyone in Billy's hometown and lets him live with the memories and weight of this day for the timebeing, making it clear he'll come back for him eventually. Vengeful Ghost /Revenant Zombie - John Davis qualifies for many traits of both of these tropes, considering he was back for revenge, has a body and keeps his memories as a Rouge Spirit - yet his incorporeal soul would be his "true form/core" from which he may regenerate his body from. From Magnum's Pre-Session (Touhou 17: Magnum vs The Adorable Drunkard) Guns Akimbo/The Gunslinger - Magnum's method of fighting involves guns. And shots. Lots of shots. More Dakka - Some techniques of Magnum are reminiscent of Danmaku which, what with meaning Bullet Hell, is self-explanatory for this trope. Fan Nickname - Drunk Sakuya. It isn't really the name of the drunk girl that Magnum fights, but her fighting style and the Touhou references ended up making this borderline official as the story never really mentioned her name (Edit: Actually, her name was mentioned by someone at the scene to be Scarlet, but apparently Drunk Sakuya stuck so much in everyone's heads that none of the players called her by the canon name ever since). Knife Nut - Just like the one she got her nickname from, Drunk Sakuya's weapon of choice are knives. Flechette Storm - Drunk Sakuya's main method of attacking was throwing knives literally everywhere. Lampshaded when, questioned by Magnum how many knives she even had, her answer was, well... Defeat means Friendship - Junko persistently says Magnum will be taking the drunkard she fought as a party member after she won their fight. Artistic License - Gun Safety - Magnum shooting/aiming at "non-lethal" areas. Justified to an extent as her opponent was also an Ether Scarred, and those can heal or regen. Still rather dangerous, though (see "Only a Flesh Wound" below). Only a Flesh wound - Magnum persistently tries to shoot Drunk Sakuya in non lethal areas. While played straight initially, it eventually ends up with this trope being subverted as she blows her entire arm off "by accident", making her scream to the skies in pain. Clock Tower - Drunk Sakuya initially shows up in one of those. The Alcoholic - Self-explanatory for the archetype Drunk Sakuya will be filling, it seems... Everything's better with Spinning - Drunk Sakuya combined a spin attack with her aforementioned Flechette Storms for maximum efficiency in what she would be hitting. Reality Ensues - When Magnum initially tries to dodge the above move, she rolls a 1 then a 2, with the very much realistic result of her being hit by multiple knives as she tries to evade. Hard-Drinking Party Girl - The nickname says it all... Beat /Delayed Reaction - As the story puts best: She's Okay - The townsfolk who knocks Sakuya out as she screams to the skies tells this to Magnum after she's KO'd by a shovel . Mysterious Past /Protagonist without a past - Magnum either does not remember, does not have or does not care about the past incident that gave her the Ether Scarred abilities. Some meta-talk may subvert this by making it part of her future instead... Tropes in the First Session (Shingeki no Chungus) Pull a Rabbit out of my Hat - Goes horribly right and just as horribly wrong for Marty, at the same time. Crash-Into Hello - Deconstructed. Dufresne's first meeting with Elly happens by her tripping and falling over his body. Her sole reaction to the events is being annoyed at him lying in the middle of the road. Forget about love at first sight: she refuses to even say she's sorry and considers kicking him again - this time on purpose - while he's getting up. Killer Rabbit - The Chungus was originally a normal rabbit and it still was for various intents and purposes sharing traits with one. It didn't stop it from gobbling people up, chewing on and eating Dufresne like a carrot (don't worry, he's well now) and almost stomping Billy to death. Hair Raising Hare - Self-Explanatory for the Chungus. Flash Step - The Big Chungus legitimately disappears out of Billy's eyes out of sheer speed, despite its large size. Turns Red - After being initially overwhelmed by the party's combined efforts, the Chungus grew even larger, posing much more of a threat and somehow also becoming smarter than two of the party members combined. Fights like a Normal - The Chungus, to some extent. Being a rabbit infused with mana, it was mostly chewing, stomping and generally using its own physical power to fight. That didn't make it any less of a threat to the party wielding its own several types of manipulation. Attack of The Killer Whatever - To an extent, the Big Chungus attack could be seen as a case of this as it was literally a giant memetic rabbit out to kill and out to chew. Gentle Giant - Ahuatzi is physically among the strongest party members and very reliable in battle. He is, however, also the most kind: From sharing his food with others while they were still strangers to stepping between Eleonore and Dufresne when he thought they were having an argument and suggesting peace, he fits this trope to a t. Even in his first encounter with a bear during his introduction story, he apologizes to it after the fight, even though he was the one attacked. Playing With Fire /Kill it with Fire/Fireballs - Billy has multiple elemental manipulations, but he mainly used Fire against the Chungus, presumably expecting this power to be more effective against a rabbit. At some point Billy also throws a massive scorching fireball at the Chungus with all of his power. The Big Guy - Hob. With the highest physical power in the party at present, he's just as if not slightly more reliable and durable than even Ahuatzi in the frontlines but also spent a lot of the Chungus fight in a deep clash of wits with the enemy to find its weakness and finally put his brain and muscle power together - finally overcoming the rabbit with all of his strength. Stone Wall - Sort of Zigzagged with Dufresne. While physically he is just as squishy as Eleonore, his plant techniques and constructs served as this to the party for a good part of the fight, focusing on defense and stalling the Chungus so it couldn't get to the party members... Something that worked well for a while but eventually took a turn for the worse. All things considered however, his plants played an important role in defending the party. The Smart Girl - Eleonore, as she was the first to try and devise a plan to explore the Chungus' weaknesses through intelligence and most called her "the brains of the team" in the fight. Theme Music Power-Up - Eleonore and the party got one "through the power of Jojo" when she defied the Chungus and threw to it a short "Reasons you Suck" speech along with Hob, and party members like Billy and Ahuatzi got more hits on it as Virtuous Pope started playing. The Chungus gets a villainous version of this later (see Oh, Crap! below) and ultimately Hob gets Stardust Crusaders playing for him as he delivers the final strike to the Chungus. Oh, Crap! - ...The Chungus ignoring the vines and Dufresne failing to evade it even after successfully analyzing it (which ended with him being gobbled up as a result) was seen as one of these moments, complete with linking a very fitting theme song to play as the scene unfolded before everyone's eyes . Kill it through its Stomach - Invoked by Dufresne/Smashtwig. His plan after being eaten was to try and destroy the Chungus from within. However, the other party members and Hob's final attack managed to finish it off before he needed to put such a plan into action. Ungrateful Bastards/Ungrateful Townsfolk /Complaining about Rescues they don't Like - The townsfolk literally chase the party away from the city with gunfire after they just got done saving them all from being eaten by the Chungus. In fact, had the party not ran away, they would be outright killed by the very people they just saved. Seeing how there was no apparent damage whatsoever caused to the town by the party's hands and there clearly were a lot of denizens to see that they were not the ones who made the thing... It sort of makes it justified how Billy, Ahuatzi, Eleonore, Hob and Dufresne just felt like next time they should just leave and let the next monster of the week eat everyone alive. "The Farmer and The Viper" - "The party and the townsfolk". Come with me if you want to live - Courtesy of Marty and his wagon, which ends up being the party's means of escape from the aforementioned townsfolk. Zigzagged though, considering he was also the one whose actions led to this in the first place... Heroic Sacrifice - Eleonore sort of evokes this trope when she tells Ahuatzi that he still has something to fight for and should leave with the others while she stays behind to die, as in her eyes she "would be the least of a loss to the world". Hilariously subverted when she realizes that Marty, the one who caused the situation in the first place, was escaping. Dying moment of Awesome - Right before Eleonore, Ahuatzi himself evokes this trope in turn, when he tells the others to run from the townsfolk while he stays behind to distract the armed townsfolk shooting to kill. Given that he was also exhausted from the fight but did not claim he was staying behind to simply die as much as he was doing it for the others... It stands to reason that he would probably go down while single-handedly fighting everyone to the last of his strength. Run or Die - Literally everyone in the party at the time the townsfolk started aiming loaded guns at them, as they were exhausted from the fight with the Chungus. Insistent Terminology - Dufresne. Weak, but Skilled - Eleonore proves herself to be fitting of this trope, mainly trying to apply intelligence and strategy to find weak spots in foes and compensate for how she's generally the squishiest member of the group. Deadpan Snarker - Eleonore tries to find remarks, puns and one-liners through the whole fight against the Chungus. All that while persistently claiming the best course of action against it would be throwing Marty to be eaten by it. Fed to the Beast - Invoked and played for laughs, with Marty being threatened to be thrown for the Chungus time and again. Mundane Utility - While in the wagon after the party's escape, Eleonore uses her thread manipulation to weave a pillow and something more comfy for her to sleep in. You are better than you think you are/Power of Trust - In a rather ironic turn of events, Elly invokes a speech that fits this trope in the fight against the Chungus towards Hob, while he was trying to find a weakness on its power. Extreme extra points to this later, as Elly herself kept failing to do any damage to it, yet Hob is the one to find a weakness and finish it off the next time he attacks - with all of his strength put behind it. The Coats are Off - Right before unleashing the final blow on the Chungus, Hob removes his coat and charges the enemy decisively. Badass Boast - Several from the Chungus throughout the fight. His profile has one of those. "The Reason you suck" speech - Delivered by Elly and Hob in response to the Chungus' own boasts. Might Makes Right - As his own profile states, Big Chungus values enforcing his supremacy through size and power. My friends... And Zoidberg. - The party... And Marty. Accomplice by Inaction - Marty is acused of this by the party at some point in the fight. He does try to do something once the party members start actually threatening to feed *him* to the Chungus. You are already Dead - Both invoked and parodied by the Chungus as he stomps Billy. You wouldn't shoot me - Dufresne threatens to shoot Marty dead and most of the party doesn't seem to care much about it. Marty manages to talk the others out of it by pointing there are way more advantages to keeping him alive and together with the band, albeit that doesn't stop Duf from threatening to whip him on their way, instead. The Friend Nobody Likes - Marty, to some (sometimes deadly) extent. Sort of justified in how the Chungus incident was his fault. Shout-Out - Elly's "I personally prefer, Killer Rabbit of Caerbachungus." is a gag shout-out to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Juggernaut - Big Chungus seems to be unstoppable, claims himself to be this and fills the part of the trope by taking several attacks from the party and making them generally do no damage at all. Hob claims several times that it has no weaknesses, until at the very end the party and Hob himself do manage to defeat it in a dramatic instance of Not so invincible after all. Cosmic Plaything - Invoked and played for laughs by Eleonore when she says "some cosmic force" was favoring the Chungus to see if it would get the upper hand on the party. While it overlaps with a very subtle reference to the Powers that Be in-verse, it mainly doubles-up with Leaning on the Fourth Wall as it was alluding to meta and the stat increase the Chungus was given mid-battle. Not quite dead - After Junko suspected as much, Word of God confirmed the Big Chungus survived and will come back in the future. Category:Blog posts